


Bravo Figaro

by lemonsandstrawberries



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Domestic Avengers, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Steve wanted a dog, Tony is a crazy cat lady, but well, just doesn't know that yet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-13
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-17 22:22:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13668510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lemonsandstrawberries/pseuds/lemonsandstrawberries
Summary: Tony comes back home with a fluffy surprise and somehow he and Steve suddenly have a cat. A lot of domestic Stony and how they deal with having a pet. Also, occasional ticklish!Tony because that is my thiing.





	Bravo Figaro

**Author's Note:**

> this is a very special story for me, I always was a crazy cat lady, but never thought about giving Tony and Steve a cat until my friend shared a sad story how she saw an injured kitten and tried to help it and the kitten, sadly, didn't make it. She asked me to write what happened with Steve and Tony and a happy ending, and that is how Figaro came to live, and how this fluffy cat launched a whole series of drabbles and inspired me to write Meow Cafe, which can be found on my profile. A lot in this fic is based on my experiences with cats and my friend's, hope you like it and will love the fluff ball as much as we do!

“Tony.. what is that?”

Steve asked, looking at his boyfriend. Tony got very late from his board meeting, and after worrying the heck out of Steve, he showed up, holding a cardboard box in his hands, his eyes shining determinedly and lips thinned.

“Tony?” Steve asked again, his anger and previous will to yell at Tony for not picking up his phone or even giving him a head ups that he would be late, disappearing. Tony didn’t answer, just had this weird flame in his eyes. Steve walked to his boyfriend and took a peek into the box. His eyes widened, seeing a kitten inside, curled around a blanket, sleeping. The kitten wasn’t a new born, but looked like 5-6 months old. It had big ears and paws and was black with some brown highlight in its fur.

“Tony?”

“He was hit by a car, Steve,” Tony finally spoke, quickly and in a shaky voice. “I couldn’t leave him. I took him to the vet and he had his hind leg broken, so I paid for the surgery and waited for the vet to patch him up and brought him here.”

Steve blinked. He looked curiously at Tony, knowing that by no means his boyfriend was an animal hater, but he never before expressed a desire to have a pet. Tony looked down, avoiding Steve’s gaze, and Steve wasn’t sure why, but Tony looked like nearly crying. 

Instantly, Steve’s eyes turned soft. He reached his hand into the box, and gently slid single finger down the kitten’s small head. He had a bit rough fur, showing that he didn’t eat the best food. Steve slid his finger lower, feeling the protruding bones of the spine. It was definitely a stray kitten. No one would look for it or be worried about it dying on the street. Steve probably never had felt prouder of Tony - he did a wonderful, selfless thing for this kitten. 

“Hey little guy,” Steve said gently, even though the kitten was still under anesthetics and wasn’t aware of the new person. He noticed the blue bandage around the cat’s right hind leg. “How long will it take until he heals?”

“Up to four weeks,” Tony replied in a shaky voice. Steve nodded, and gently petted the cat for the last time, before taking his hand out of the box. He tried to get Tony look at him, but Tony found the floor much more interesting.

Steve scratched his head, feeling a bit awkward. “Um.. Do you want to keep it?” he asked. He didn’t see a reason to not keep it. Steve always wanted a pet, well, he pictured himself with a dog, with which he could play fetch and go for walks, but cats were good too.

The question, finally made Tony look at him. Steve noticed the fire in Tony’s eyes blazing again. 

“No,” Tony answered firmly and coldly.

Steve looked puzzled at such firm reaction. If Tony didn’t want to keep it, why he didn’t leave him in the vet’s office? 

“Tony?” seemed that Steve would have to repeat his boyfriend’s name many times today.

Tony took a shaky breath, looking hard at Steve. “Steve. No matter what you say, no matter how angry, you will get at me.. I’m keeping this cat.”

That threw Steve off track. He blinked, getting confused. Why Tony thought that he would have something against keeping the little guy? At Tony’s place, Steve would do the exact same thing, so why now he would question Tony’s decision. A little, nervous twitch of Tony’s eyes, reminded Steve something.. 

Tony didn’t like to be seen as nice. He liked to have people thinking that he was selfish and egoistic. People were not supposed to know that Tony Stark was a nice guy, who donated to charity and animal shelters. Bringing an injured kitten, treating and keeping it, contradicted the whole image Tony had carefully built around himself during the years. 

Steve smiled softly, understanding. His boyfriend the dork. Fine, he would please him..

With an exaggerated huff, Steve’s gaze hardened and he propped his hands on hips, glaring down at Tony. “Fine. Keep it. But it better be the last time you made such a hasty decision without prior consulting it with me!” he growled.

Tony’s eyes sparkled happily, before he growled back. “You’re not the boss of me, Rogers!”

“And don’t you even think of spending our money on million of cat toys and different types of cat bed!” Steve growled further.

Tony made an outraged face. “I didn’t plan to, but seeing that you forbade me that, I’m gonna do it, just to piss you off!" 

"Fine,” Steve seethed through his teeth, taking the box out of Tony’s hands. “Just don’t go right now, because I need to cook lunch first and I won’t sit here and do nothing, looking after the cat!”

“I will go where I want and when I want, and you better cook something, because I definitely won’t buy any takeaway!” Tony hissed back with an angry face.

After a quick kiss, Tony was gone and Steve sat on the couch, placing the box next to him, having an eye on the sleeping kitten. When after an hour or so, Tony came back, he was carrying five bags of things for the cat, including toys, blankets, different bowls, cat towers, scratching posts, two bags of cat food, and one bag of food from “Alberto’s,” which was one of their favorite restaurants where they liked to go on dates, including Steve’s favorite spinach lasagna. 

The evening was calm. The kitten was waking up on and off, the anesthesia still working. The night was tougher and Steve and Tony had taken turns with sleeping on the couch, looking after the cat, while the other was trying to get some sleep in the bedroom. Tony, not liking to have his sleep interrupted, immediately regretted bringing the cat, Steve was more understanding and patient, and took care of both with tender care, soothing the kitten and Tony.

The morning was so, so, so much better. The kitten quickly accepted it new surroundings and wasn’t scared of either Steve or Tony, and was happily limping around them, his hind leg gently tapping on the wooden floor. He didn’t seem to be bothered with the bandage and just ignored it, like usually cats do, not paying attention to such details. He was cute, and Steve laughed a bit, noticing that the cat had big, wide eyes which made him look gawky and together with his big paws and ears, made him look even gawkier. The kitten was happy, loud and damn hungry, and they had to ration his food, to not upset his stomach after months of starvation and eating from the trash cans. 

Steve was lying on the couch, observing as Tony was showing the kitten his new toys. The cat was curious and enthusiastic, and Tony gently played with him, mindful of the broken paw. 

“Did you think of the name for him?” Steve murmured, the blissful atmosphere and the rough night, making him a bit sleepy. Tony didn’t answer, too busy playing and Steve gently ruffled Tony’s hair, as the brunet was leaning his back against the couch and sitting on the floor, staying close to Steve.

“Huh? What?” Tony asked, tilting his head back.

Steve smiled and kissed his boyfriend’s messed up hair. “Did you think of the name for the cat?”

Tony scrunched his nose, and looked back at the kitten, who was discovering the joys of squeaky mouse toy, pawing at it and trying to toss it up.

“MK 57,” Tony replied after a while in all seriousness. Steve rolled his eyes. Seemed that thinking of the cat’s name was his duty.

“How about.. Fido?” Steve thought out loud.

“Fido?” Tony repeated, disgust clear in his voice. “He is not a dog, Steve!”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of it,” soldier took a colorful little ball from the floor, “here, kitty, kitty! Catch!” he threw the ball, not too far, letting it roll on the ground. The kitten started a clumsy chase, and when managed to get the ball in his claws, he bit the ball and brought back to Tony and Steve.

“See? He already knows fetch!” Steve laughed happily.

Tony grunted, watching the kitten drop the ball. “Bad! Bad kitty!” he reprimanded the pet, earning a gentle slap on the back of his head from Steve for making the kitten nervous, “here, play with this!” Tony took a plastic stick with an attached fake fish at the end, dangling it in front of the kitten. The pet reacted enthusiastically at first, but it got quickly bored and got interested in a bright green tunnel, walking back and forth through it. 

“He needs a name,” Steve reminded, taking from the floor a stick with colorful feathers on the tip, playfully tickling the back of Tony’s neck with it.

Tony giggled, and scrunched his shoulders, but didn’t move away from Steve. “Stop it!” he giggled out, keeping his shoulders up. “Steve! No!” Tony laughed, when the feathers twirled at his ear and down the side of his neck.

Steve was smiling, loving Tony’s giggles. They both watched the cat taking a break from the toys and grooming himself, a bit clumsily because of the bandage.

“Little butt muncher,” Steve said affectionately, sweeping the feathers at Tony’s collarbone, keeping him giggling. “Let’s call him like that!” he joked.

“That’s a terrible name for a cat!” Tony scoffed, bursting into deep laughter, when Steve looped one arm around him, keeping him in place and wriggled his fingers into Tony’s clamped underarm, tickling him wild. “HEEYHAHA!!”

“You brought the cat, let me name him at least!” Steve demanded gleefully, planning to tickle Tony into submission, like he always did. 

“NOOHAHAHA!! Stahhahap! Stopstop!!” Tony laughed, kicking his legs and causing a bigger havoc in the cat toys placed all around them. 

The little kitten watched his new family curiously. 

After many discussions, the cat’s name was chosen. Tony was stubborn about giving him an overly pompous name and he proudly announced the cat’s new name - Ferrucio Guerino. The first. Because their cat looked clearly Italian. Steve, after slapping his own forehead, shortened the name to Figaro. Tony smiled and nodded, agreeing. As for Figaro.. seemed that he didn’t care as much as his owners about his new name, and calmly accepted what they came up with.

The upcoming weeks had been spent on domesticating the cat and introducing the newest Avenger to the team. The official version was that Steve had found the kitten, as Tony had to maintain his reputation of a bastard, and rolling his eyes, Steve agreed. Much to their relief, everyone had accepted the cat right away, wanting to play and cuddle with it, and it was adorable how small the kitten had looked in Thor’s big hands. Even Clint, who seemed like having problems with cats, quickly got under the charm of the gawky, adorable kitten. 

Everything seemed to be going fine, until the evening, Tony and Steve decided to trim Figaro’s claws. They were too long and he was unintentionally scratching everyone around.

“Fig!! Hold still!!” Tony snapped, having problems with keeping the kitten in place and flat on the table. The first snap was easy - Figaro didn’t expect anything and calmly watched Steve take his paw. After the snap, Steve had been careful to cut just a little bit and not get to the nerve, Figaro’s eyes widened and he quickly hid his paw away, deciding that he didn’t like it. Not at all.

“MEEEW!!” the cat cried desperately, wanting to be let go.

“Tony, hold him!” Steve snapped, trying to tug one paw, getting scratched by the other one.

“I’m trying, dammit! Fig!!" 

It could end very ugly, but after a gentle suggestion from JARVIS, Tony took a blanket and rolled Figaro in it, letting one paw stick out, and Steve, accompanied by cat’s crying, but not scratching, carefully trimmed the claws, one paw after another. 

When they were done, Figaro, hurt and betrayed, limped away, to hide in the bedroom. Tony and Steve collapsed on the couch, exhausted and scratched.. Having a cat was hard.

They were lying in silence on the couch, just resting, when they heard a gentle tapping noise.

Knock, knock, knock..

Tony opened his eyes and saw their little devil in fur, getting closer to the couch, his bandaged paw knocking on the floor. 

"Ah, look who decided to show up!” he called. Steve was sitting on the couch, Tony was spread on his back, his head in Steve’s lap. They both watched the kitten got closer, innocent as ever. He stopped at Steve’s feet, looking up at them.

“Meow!”

“What is it, Figgy?” Steve asked softly, already forgetting the whole trouble their kitten had caused them.

“Came to apologize?” Tony asked, not so quick to forget.

Figaro made some soft noise and tried to climb up Steve’s leg - thanks to the shorter claws, it wasn’t so painful anymore - but he couldn’t jump up, because of the broken paw. 

“Tony, lift him up,” Steve said quickly, remembering the few times, he saw Fig trying to jump on the couch, first putting his front paws on the furniture and then bouncing up and down, which could easily further damage the paw or broke what was healing and it was giving Steve heart attacks.

“Fine, fine,” Tony mused, scooping the cat up and putting on his chest. “What’s up, little stinker?" 

"By stinky, I hope you mean stinking cute,” Steve cooed, petting purring kitten’s head. Slowly, his fur was thickening and becoming more fluffy thanks to the good food he was given regularly, the protruding bones were hidden under a soft layer and the big eyes were shining, showing a perfectly healthy and a happy cat. 

Figaro was happy with so much affection and tried to curl on Tony’s chest, but something cold and metal and glowing under his paw didn’t let him. He nosed the device in Tony’s chest gently, not knowing what it was.

Tony shivered, all kinds of touch on the arc, always vibrating deep into his body. He had already cuddled Figaro many times to his chest, but it was the first time the kitten got interested what was under his shirt. 

“Maybe you should show him,” Steve suggested gently.

Tony frowned a little bit, not seeing a point in that, but he did it anyway. Maybe it was a good idea - he wouldn’t want to find Figaro attempting to claw the arc out of his chest at some point. Tony lowered the neckline of his tank top, showing the cat the light in his chest. Figaro, looked closely, the blue light catching his attention. He brushed his nose on the device and licked it, Tony shivered more, but ultimately, the cat decided that it was nothing worth his attention. Instead of curling on Tony’s chest, Figaro walked down Tony and settled on his stomach, gently kneading the soft place, liking this spot much better.

“He must have decided that it’s much cozier there,” Steve chuckled, observing the crazily purring cat.

Tony scoffed, and swatted at Steve, hating when Steve pointed out the bit of fat around his waist area. Steve laughed and caught the hand, kissing Tony’s palm.

“It was a compliment, babe,” he explained himself, and Tony scoffed again, scoff mixing with a small laugh. “What?”

“Ah.. Nothing.. Just.. Ahihi..”

Steve laughed again, watching Figaro eagerly kneading Tony’s belly and Tony giggling quietly. “Be glad that he doesn’t have these sharp claws any longer.”

Tony nodded, giggling some more, honestly being grateful for that. He could deal with these little tickles, which were kinda nice. He petted Figaro’s back, and the cat nuzzled into his palm, finally curling on his stomach to sleep. Steve smiled and turned the TV on, knowing that they both were stuck here for a while. 

The four weeks passed quickly and soon it was time to take the bandage off. During the vet visit, they were asked if they wish to have their cat neutered, and Tony firmly said no - Figaro was an indoor cat, and maybe one day, they would hook him up with a nice Miss Kitty. That was far in the future and they had to focus on their current problem - the paw healed nicely, but the weeks of walking with a stiff paw, altered kitten’s walking and he was putting his formerly broken paw a bit differently than the rest, which produced a light, tapping noise on the wooden panels. It was okay, and at least Tony and Steve were warned each time, their kitten was getting closer.

The bandage was removed and they came back home. Figaro quickly forgot about his misfortune and the horrible visit at the horrible man who smelled of anesthetic and other animals, and was finally able to enjoy all the cat toys and towers he had, playing to his little cat heart’s content..

Turned out that the bottle cap was the best toy ever, and there was no better napping spot than a shoebox (except for Tony’s belly), and who cares about the fancy toys and fancy beds. 

Still, Figaro enjoyed sleeping in bed with them. First, he fell to sleep whenever he wanted, but somehow always ended in the bed, appearing in the middle of the night, to curl on one of the pillows. It was heartwarming to wake up and see the cat next to them, knowing that this little creature trusted them with his all furry being.. 

Having a cat, as sweet as it was, has also its downsides. Cats were nosy and curious. During the first days, Tony and Steve were constantly running after Figaro, making sure that he won’t try and climb on lamps, or attempt to shred the curtains. 

Very curious. Figaro many times already interrupted their love making time, sitting on the bed and staring, and that was a real mood killer. They tried closing the door, but that resulted in a lot of desperate meowing and clawing the door. Even under the shower wasn’t safe, as after Figaro’s paw had been healed, the little devil learned how to open the door and kept the staring ritual. 

Cats were also eccentric and had their own oddities. Turned out that Figaro loved water, and demanded having a bathtub full of warm water so he could swim around in it, like a duck. And there was nothing better than cuddling to Steve or Tony after they were fresh out of the shower and warm and wet..

There was one serious drawback of having a cat. A serious one, that caused Steve and Tony many arguments. 

Cat litter. 

Tony had bought the most fancy and expensive cat litter he could find. All they had to do was to scoop the clumps and flush them in the toilet. Simple. Simpler in theory than in practice..

“Steeeveeeeee..”

Steve grunted and started to blink his eyes open, feeling gentle pawing on his arm. It was dark around and he only saw Tony’s shiny eyes and the light from the arc as his boyfriend was hovering above him.

“Babe.. what is it..?” Steve asked groggily, his eyes closing back.

“Uh.. it’s about the cat..”

Steve shot his eyes wide open, ready and alert. “What? Did something happen to Fig?” he asked, sitting up, the sudden movement, making him a bit dizzy.

“No, Figaro is fine!” Tony jumped in, pointing Steve’s attention to the fluff ball curled on the pillow where a few minutes ago Tony’s head had been. 

Steve blinked and grunted tiredly, curling back to sleep. “Stop scaring me..” he mumbled, sleep nearly taking over him, when..

“Steeeeveeeeeeee..”

“Whaaaat?”

“I need to use to the bathroom..”

“Then go,” Steve yawned into the pillow.

“I can’t!” another whine.

“Aw, you want me to hold your hand?” Steve snarked, being tired making him sarcastic.

Tony punched him in the arm. “Don’t be stupid,” he growled. “I need you to go the bathroom.”

“Why?” Steve whined, wanting to be left alone and warm.

“Because Figaro was in the bathroom before me.”

Steve lifted up on his elbow and glanced at Tony with a very unamused face. “Are you serious right now? You woke me up, so I could clean the litter box?” he asked slowly and heavily.

“It’s your turn!” Tony argued in a squeaky voice.

“I cleaned it before we went to sleep!”

“But you feed him! Steve, it’s the size of an elephant! I don’t know how such little thing can produce so much poop!” Tony panicked, his eyes shining in the dark, showing how much terrified he was.

Steve started giggling madly. That was so stupid. He smushed his face back into the pillow. “Just man up and clean it,” he advised, closing his eyes. 

“But Steeev…”

“Go,” Steve said gently, not so gently tugging at the covers, making Tony fall off from the bed.

“Ow!” Tony grunted when he hit the floor, after a while, popping his head up over the edge of the bed and glaring. Steve ignored him, feeling the glare, but not seeing, having his eyes still closed. 

“If you won’t clean it, I’m gonna take a leak in the kitchen sink,” Tony hissed.

Steve chuckled more. “Do that, and I will give you the worst Dutch oven ever.”

Tony gasped exaggeratedly, holding his hand to his arc in mock horror. “Not the freedom farts!”

Steve laughed outright at that and took a pillow, playfully hitting Tony in the face, to which Tony reacted with an “oof” sound. “Go to the bathroom, idiot,” Steve hissed fondly, turning his back to Tony, planning to sleep more.

A few grumbles more, Steve heard Tony shifting on the floor, until he finally stood up. One deep breath later, Tony opened the bathroom door, just to yelp “oh, for the love offff” and closed the door behind him.

Steve laughed a bit more, sinking into the bed, and nearly falling back to sleep, when some nasty scent hit his nostrils. Steve sniffed a couple of times, nearly choking, his peak senses screaming in protest. He opened his eyes and saw Figaro, still calmly sleeping on the pillow, close to him.

“Christ, Fig..” Steve whined, pulling the covers over his head. Their cat was silent and deadly. Like a ninja. “I’m never again giving you broccoli..” he muttered, hoping that it was the end of surprises for one night.

Figaro was growing big and healthy and fast. From a scrawny, funny looking kitten he became a handsome young adult. Tony was glad that they had so many pictures of him as a kitten, because he didn’t resemble that cat the slightest. He finally grew to his big ears and paws, and was nearly 30 inches long, including the tail. His fur grew a bit longer, and the brown reflexes in his black fur, became bronze highlights and his eyes were vibrant, beautiful green. 

“He doesn’t look like an alley cat..” Tony thought out loud, scrolling on his tablet down the sites for cat lovers, trying to find a cat which resembled Figaro. 

“Well, he is not an adult yet, he can still change,” Steve smiled, observing as Natasha, who was a frequent guest on their floor, was gently playing with Figaro, using his favorite toy which was the stick with the fish on a string. Figaro was quick and eager to play, letting out playful growls.

“Yeah, probably. I wonder how big he will get,” Tony tapped his chin, his other hand simultaneously tapping on the tablet.

“Very big,” Natasha suddenly said, not stopping playing with the cat.

“Huh?”

“He will be a big cat. He looks like a mix of an alley cat and a Main Coon. Or Norwegian Forest cat. They are big,” Natasha explained simply. Steve smiled, while Tony buried his nose back in the tablet, checking how these breed looked like.

“Nat, I didn’t know you’re a cat expert,” Steve teased.

“You don’t know a lot about me, honey,” Natasha teased back, not playing with Figaro any more, but scratching him behind the ears, making the cat purr like crazy.

“Holy crap! Steve, these cats are massive!” Tony called in awe, motioning for Steve to come closer to show him the pictures he found. After the first shock, Steve decided that he didn’t mind Figaro getting that big. The more of the cat, the better. 

They would still find out what kind of cat Figaro was, but during his scrolling, Tony found a solution to the litter box problem. He found some special toilet seats, designed to train your cat to use the toilet. They ordered them right away, and it took them a few months to teach Figaro, but when he finally got it, they could say goodbye forever to litter! At the beginning they kept the bathroom door always opened, but then Tony decided to install some cat door in it, to make things easier. 

Sometimes it wasn’t easier..

Tony entered the bedroom late evening, greeted by a peculiar sight of Steve nervously jumping around the whole room, only in his pajama bottom.

“Baby, what are you doing?” Tony asked, his eyes following Steve.

“Nothing,” soldier grunted, gritting his teeth. “Tap dancing.”

Tony quirked an eyebrow at that. Why Steve was snarking at him..

The sound of toilet flushing. Then Figaro squeezed out through the little cat door, looking relieved.

Well, Tony couldn’t say that about Steve.

“Freaking finally!” Steve snapped, darting into the bathroom, closing the door. 

Tony just stared. And stared. Figaro jumped on the bed, and curled himself in the covers, getting ready for sleep.

When Tony started laughing, long and hard, he found himself not able to stop for a very long time.

“Shut up!!” Steve yelled from the bathroom.

That made Tony laugh even more.

When Steve ran out from the bathroom, jumping at Tony and they both started to wrestle and fight, laughing and screaming, Figaro gave them a patronizing look. It was bedtime, not play time. 

More months had passed, and turned out that Natasha was right. It was hard to tell if Figaro was a mix of Main Coon, or Norwegian Forest cat, or maybe both, but their gawky kitten grew into a huge, fluffy monster. He was nearly 4 feet long, which 1 foot was the tail, and weighed astounding 27 lbs, which was a bit too much, but that was expected, seeing that he was getting treats all the time from all members of the team and even Director Fury, who couldn’t resist these green orbs in a fluffy face. Figaro was beautiful - and that was no owner’s love speaking - he was a truly beautiful cat. He had black shiny fur, with gorgeous golden brown stripes and almond shaped, emerald eyes, deep and focused, the only off thing about him was a tiny patch of white fur just under his chin, but it added to his charm. His fur was impressive and when he curled into a ball, he looked like an expensive and luxurious fur cap, but it was his tail, which got the most compliments - long and thick and black and Tony kept joking that it looked like a bottle brush. 

“ _Ah, che bel vivere, che bel piacere,che bel Piacere!_ ” Steve sang in a deep voice, early morning in the kitchen while preparing breakfast for him and Tony. “ _Per un barbiere di qualita! Di qualita!_ ”

Figaro was sitting not the counter, listening to Steve’s pleasant voice, and even if Steve didn’t manage to get his voice high enough, it was fine, Figaro was more busy with observing the pancakes flying in the air. The bacon was frying on the pan nearby, the aroma, strong and enticing, and Figaro knew that when his other human wakes up, he would get some bacon bits under the table, even though Steve already gave him a thin slice of raw bacon.

“ _Ah, bravo Figaro!_ ” Figaro’s ears twitched when he heard his name, and looked at Steve, who motioned to him, continuing to sing and toss pancakes. “ _Bravo, bravissimo! Bravo! La la la la la la la LA!_ ” Steve poured the last portion of batter on the pan and glanced at the clock. It was nearly 9 am.

“Figaro, go wake up Tony,” he asked with a smile. Figaro was a highly intelligent cat and understood what that meant. Granted, it was his duty to wake up Tony. Well, his only duty. Softly, Figaro jumped down from the counter and padded to the bedroom, his long fur sweeping gracefully with each movement and his hind paw gently tapping on the panels. Steve smiled more, letting Fig do his work and focusing back on breakfast.

Tony was still deep in sleep, when their cat walked his furry self into the bedroom. He lightly jumped on the bed, and eyed his human, sleeping on his side, hand tucked behind his head. Figaro knew, that his dark haired human liked to sleep late and showed on the floor each late night, strongly smelling of metal and something heady, he couldn’t figure out. 

“Meow,” he tried, looking for a reaction. 

Nothing. He got more light snoring.

Figaro was torn for a second. He could just curl on the pillow next to his human and fall back to blissful sleep or get his human up and get some breakfast bacon.

The cat pawed at Tony’s face, lightly tapping his cheeks. The promise of bacon won.

“Meeeeeoooow!” Figaro tried again, getting his furry head in Tony’s vision, which did absolutely nothing as Tony’s eyes were still closed. He buttheaded the human’s forehead affectionately and placed a wet nose kiss against the button nose.

 _“Get up, bacon’s ready,”_ the message said.

Tony scrunched his nose at the fur tickling his face and the cold nose. “Uhmm.. Fig.. Go away..” he whined, turning on his back, getting his face away from the cat.

Figaro was a smart, observant cat. He noticed that when his light haired human wanted to wake up the other one, he kneaded his belly. He settled his furry butt on his owner hips and started to vigorously knead his human’s tummy, the thin material not providing any protection from the stubborn paws. Still, Figaro was gentle and didn’t use his claws, knowing that humans were squishy and soft.

Tony’s lips twitched into a brief smile, but still it was more of sleeping, than actual waking up.

Figaro kneaded a little faster.

 _“Wake up, wake up, wake up,”_ the kneading said.

Tony giggled and made a half attempt at sweeping the cat off him, but failed, his brain - arm connection not working yet.

Figaro knew what to do to get his human moving. He saw the light haired one do that million of times. When due to the kneading, Tony’s shirt started to raise up and the little knob in his human’s stomach started to be visible, Figaro lowered his head and pressed his slightly wet, cold nose to the bit of skin.

“GAH!!” Tony jolted, opening his eyes, the cold nose on his belly button efficiently shocking him. “Fig!” he scolded, fighting to lower his shirt.

What he saw was Figaro all pleased with himself, his green eyes sparkling, and his big, fluffy tail sweeping over Tony’s thigh. His human woke up.

“Come here, you little monster,” Tony grumbled, taking the cat in his arms, and flopping back on the pillows, cuddling the pet close, stroking his soft fur.

Figaro started to purr instantly. Maybe they could nap a bit longer..

His ears twitched when he heard a sizzling noise, indicating that more bacon was thrown in the pan. A divine smell..

They could sleep later..

“Haha-aaha!” Tony laughed, turning his head away, when Figaro started to nuzzle his human’s face, his whiskers tickling terribly. “Fiihihine! I’m up!”

Figaro purred. Bacon was getting closer. 

Figaro had a very regular, content life. He slept, he ate, he played. It was the usual routine.

But life wasn’t always sweet. There were days when there was a lot of screaming, his both human smelled of blood and dirt, and were facing each other with angry faces..

“You could have died, Tony!”

“What did you expect me to do?! I did that to save us all!!”

The light haired man, usually stormed out first, ending the screaming. Figaro didn’t like screaming. He didn’t like either, when his dark haired human slumped down to the floor, holding his hand pressed to his lips and shaking, salty water leaking from his eyes. 

“Meow..” in such times, Figaro meowed sympathetically, brushing himself around the sobbing man.

Tony sniffled, taking the cat in his arms, burying his crying face into the soft fur. “Sorry you had to see that, buddy..” he whispered.

Figaro purred, low and pleasant. It would be fine. He would later find the light haired one and convince him to come back, so they could be a family again. 

Luckily, the light haired one always came back, and it was all good and they all cuddled. Figaro liked it better. He liked his humans together and if they had to scream, he preferred it to be when he was playing and spontaneously jumping from the cupboards, straight on their backs. They screamed squeakily and funnily and Figaro was running away fast, considering it happy screaming.

He didn’t like the late night screaming when at 3 am he was doing his routine of running around the whole floor, scaring dark, evil shadows away. His humans didn’t understand that he was protecting them and kept yelling at him, but it was okay, they were just humans. Figaro could forgive them. 

Still, Figaro’s favorite moments was when he saw his persons cuddled on the couch and he could take his spot, on dark haired man’s tummy, which due to its softness and pliableness, was perfect for kneading, while the light haired’s one, was firmer and tighter. Not so kneadable.

“You know,” Steve murmured, looking at Figaro vigorously making bread on Tony’s belly, “I’m getting jealous. He claimed my spot.”

Tony’s head was in Steve’s lap and his lips were twitching into a smile and some small giggles escaped him, here and there. That made Figaro purr even louder - he liked his humans happy.

“You guys can share,” Tony giggled, his nose scrunching, when a soft paw kneaded his belly button. “Hmgh!”

Steve smiled, reaching his hand and petting Figaro’s back, until the cat settled and curled into a big, fluffy ball. “Remember how small he was?” he asked with affection, stroking the impressive fur of their little monster who now took nearly Tony’s whole torso. 

“Yeah, what were you feeding him again?” Tony asked teasingly, getting warm from the cat blanket on top of him. 

“Some radioactive waste,” Steve laughed. He turned the TV on and looked for a movie for them to watch. He looped one arm around Tony, holding him and Tony smiled, intertwining their fingers together, his other hand still stroking Figaro’s soft back, who was acting as a radiator. 

Figaro was purring crazily, knowing that his humans, thanks to him, were happy, and safe, and warm, and well fed, as he was even leaving them small bacon bits in the bed, if they ever feel like having a midnight snack. 

Yes, Figaro was definitely doing a great job with taking care of them. 

_“Ah, bravo Figaro! Bravo, bravissimo!”_


End file.
